This Week In Your Plastic Crack, Action Figures and Toy Collection 26 26

[sagii]

@F For Fake @followtheleader Thanks guys! 

[D84]

12 hours ago, followtheleader said:

Item #2

Long time want for me. 

Kenner Jones' are the king of string (okay, there are other toy lines that are more string centric).  

Brilliant idea to make his whip out of string (realistic enough and safe for a kid).  Similar to the Convoy's string to drag Indy behind it like the movie. 

Figure and accessories are in excellent condition. 

The gun is super small.  Don't know how any have lasted. 

Face is surprisingly comparable to Indy for an 80s toy. 

Patrick

 

It's so hard to find one without a broken thumb.

[BrooksR]

18 hours ago, comicwiz said:

Hi @BrooksR

AFA is the only company, provided you are in the U.S. If you are in the UK, then UKG is your best bet. Stay far away from any other company calling themselves a "grader."

The economics of grading still remain most viable with rarer toys where impartial grading assists most through its authentication function, and any assignment of grade is secondary.

The market still has high grade chasers, but there's been an overall softening across the board. Even some of the premium stuff isn't moving as fast as it once did.

Loose figure grading I'd reserve for higher value, rarer, foreign or prototypes. You're less likely to see any return after grading fees and shipping on your run of the mill figures. Variants have sort of dropped off the cliff as well, they aren't selling as strong or as fast as they were even a year ago.

If you just want to protect or display your stuff in cases, there's plenty of sliding bottom acrylic cases for loose figures and MOC's that will do just as good a job of preserving your collection.

You or anyone here wondering about any of the above can PM me anytime. I'd be happy to direct you to the right resources and reputable people that offer supplies and casing solutions.

Thanks comicwiz and F is for Fake!  I looked at the prices for grading vintage figs, it looks like the cheapest afa price for vintage figs is $40!  Yikes .  I think I'll just do as you suggested and get some acrylic cases.  My concern is will they be difficult to sell if I ever need to (mostly I have ROTJ carded figs and one GI Joe Hawk)?  I was at a small local comic convention and there were some vintage carded figs there, I asked the dealer about them and he said they were repro cards.  I couldn't tell the difference . I remember that repro weapons were an issue back when I was still buying toys.  With 3d printers how long will it be until entire figures are faked?  

Also, as a side note, when I tried to ebay some of my star wars stuff a while ago they weren't going for much.  Have the new movies improved the market?

Edited December 18, 2019 by BrooksR

[F For Fake]

5 minutes ago, BrooksR said:

Thanks comicwiz and F is for Fake!  I looked at the prices for grading vintage figs, it looks like the cheapest afa price for vintage figs is $40!  Yikes .  I think I'll just do as you suggested and get some acrylic cases.  My concern is will they be difficult to sell if I ever need to (mostly I have ROTJ carded figs and one GI Joe Hawk)?  I was at a small local comic convention and there were some vintage carded figs there, I asked the dealer about them and he said they were repro cards.  I couldn't tell the difference . I remember that repro weapons were an issue back when I was still buying toys.  With 3d printers how long will it be until entire figures are faked?  

Also, as a side note, when I tried to ebay some of my star wars stuff a while ago they weren't going for much.  Have the new movies improved the market?

Repro cards are getting scary good. I'm not sure if they can fool the graders yet, but it seems possible at some point. Wasn't there a big ruckus several years ago because someone slipped a faked vinyl cape Jawa past AFA? @comicwiz @Buzzetta? I may be wrong, but that tickles my brain for some reason. I am generally wary of carded figs for reasons given above, but also because of repros, unless I can verify that they're from an original owner collection. And even then, I don't like to pay much of a premium for them. I like carded stuff, I think it's super cool to look at, but I wouldn't put more into them than I could afford to lose it they eventually fell apart, or I guess the new concern, turned out to be faked!

As for the market, I'm sure others can weigh in, I haven't dealt much in Star Wars for a very long time.

[STORMSHADOW_80]

15 hours ago, followtheleader said:

What is the sub from?  If Joes, it has to be more recent (like late 90s or newer). 

The Raven is so tight. 

Patrick

Thanks! The Raven is definitely one of my favorite Cobra vehicles.

The sub is one of toys r us's True Heroes Sentinel 1. Same scale as Joes. Not bad for $5. They made some pretty cool vehicles.

[Buzzetta]

2 hours ago, D84 said:

It's so hard to find one without a broken thumb.

That’s my collecting goal to eventually find one.  The unbroken thumb eludes me. 

[comicwiz]

2 hours ago, F For Fake said:

Repro cards are getting scary good. I'm not sure if they can fool the graders yet, but it seems possible at some point. Wasn't there a big ruckus several years ago because someone slipped a faked vinyl cape Jawa past AFA?

@F For Fake you might be thinking of this imposter grader, which I won't even dignify by naming them.

Like I said earlier, AFA is your best bet.

Edited December 18, 2019 by comicwiz

[comicwiz]

@BrooksR post photos of the MOC's you've been told are recards, I'll offer my opinion on them if that helps.

[fantastic_four]

2 hours ago, BrooksR said:

With 3d printers how long will it be until entire figures are faked?  

Indefinitely long.  The types of 3D printers available on the consumer market are awful...I still haven't figured out why anyone bothers with them.  I see people printing action figure accessories with them and I really hate the way they look.  All 3D-printed items have highly visible banding lines that make it impossible to miss them and that make most of the plastic items you'd find in dollar stores look spectacular by comparison.

[STORMSHADOW_80]

I didn’t realize how big I went on toys this year. I had a hard time narrowing my top 3 so here is my top 4. G.I. Joe Night Striker that I found really kicked off my Night Force collection and also had me completing a standard Whale as well as a custom unreleased 95’ Sea Wolf. Megatron in box. Mospeada Cyclone. Optimus Prime masterpiece MP-10G

[F For Fake]

25 minutes ago, comicwiz said:

@F For Fake you might be thinking of this imposter grader, which I won't even dignify by naming them.

Like I said earlier, AFA is your best bet.

See, this is why you're here, to keep me in check!

[F For Fake]

Just now, STORMSHADOW_80 said:

I didn’t realize how big I went on toys this year. I had a hard time narrowing my top 3 so here is my top 4. G.I. Joe Night Striker that I found really kicked off my Night Force collection and also had me completing a standard Whale as well as a custom unreleased 95’ Sea Wolf. Megatron in box. Mospeada Cyclone. Optimus Prime masterpiece MP-10G

That's a banner year! 

[BrooksR]

17 minutes ago, comicwiz said:

@BrooksR post photos of the MOC's you've been told are recards, I'll offer my opinion on them if that helps.

Oh they weren't my figs.  I'm fairly confident mine are real since I bought them in the 90's.  The repros I saw were at a small show.  The dealer told me they were repro cards. I couldn't tell if they were real or not, which makes me wonder how confident people can be buying ungraded moc's (like mine).  I worry about the future value of my legit moc's.  Maybe I should sell them sooner rather than later.

[STORMSHADOW_80]

Just now, F For Fake said:

That's a banner year! 

Thanks man! I can’t believe how much I put into the toy collection this year with figures and displays. It’s crazy. Thanks Buzz for the top 3 suggestion. It gave me some good reflection 

[BrooksR]

4 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

That's a banner year! 

oops, quoted the wrong person... meant to quote stormshadow

Edited December 18, 2019 by BrooksR

[707comics]

@BrooksR I like carded stuff and I like AFA stuff. They sure do look great on the shelf and I don't have to dust them! That said, it is certainly not the primary focus of my collection and I normally only pick them up when the price is right.

It seems to me like most recognize that there are cases where grading can be worth it (high value, really rare pieces as @comicwiz pointed out) but very few people I have run into actively submit things to be graded or exclusively collect graded stuff (loose or MOC). Maybe if I had some sealed original G1 Transformers or a loose "Pimp Daddy" Destro I might consider sending them in

 

 

 

 

[BrooksR]

4 minutes ago, STORMSHADOW_80 said:

I didn’t realize how big I went on toys this year. I had a hard time narrowing my top 3 so here is my top 4. G.I. Joe Night Striker that I found really kicked off my Night Force collection and also had me completing a standard Whale as well as a custom unreleased 95’ Sea Wolf. Megatron in box. Mospeada Cyclone. Optimus Prime masterpiece MP-10G

 

 

 

Dude... that megatron.   Awesome!

[BrooksR]

3 minutes ago, 707comics said:

@BrooksR I like carded stuff and I like AFA stuff. They sure do look great on the shelf and I don't have to dust them! That said, it is certainly not the primary focus of my collection and I normally only pick them up when the price is right.

It seems to me like most recognize that there are cases where grading can be worth it (high value, really rare pieces as @comicwiz pointed out) but very few people I have run into actively submit things to be graded or exclusively collect graded stuff (loose or MOC). Maybe if I had some sealed original G1 Transformers or a loose "Pimp Daddy" Destro I might consider sending them in

 

 

 

 

So it seems the consensus is that the increase in value (what it would sell for) that grading brings might not be enough to offset the cost of grading?  In my mind if it costs $40 to grade and increases value by less than $80 it's not worth it.

On a similar note, it blows my mind how I see cgc slabs sell for less than $30.  Why bother slabbing something that isn't worth more than that?

 

 

[F For Fake]

29 minutes ago, BrooksR said:

On a similar note, it blows my mind how I see cgc slabs sell for less than $30.  Why bother slabbing something that isn't worth more than that?

 

 

It could be a couple of things:

1. Bulk submitters who are getting a group submission discount, just recouping costs

or

2. Folks who overestimated the grade of their submissions, cutting their losses and trying to salvage anything at all.

[ADAMANTIUM]

5 minutes ago, F For Fake said:

36 minutes ago, BrooksR said:

On a similar note, it blows my mind how I see cgc slabs sell for less than $30.  Why bother slabbing something that isn't worth more than that?

 

 

It could be a couple of things:

1. Bulk submitters who are getting a group submission discount, just recouping costs

or

2. Folks who overestimated the grade of their submissions, cutting their losses and trying to salvage anything at all.

Also,

My LCS or even Half Price Books, who have already made their money on collections will sometimes have a slab sale at $15 a piece  

Some of the slabs you really wouldn't consider key at all, but some were signature series or 9.8, I'd pick them up....

I'd sell those on ebay for $30-35 if people would buy them  I mean that's still $5-10 profit to me